In recent years, microchannel chips have been used to accurately and speedily analyze a small amount of a material such as protein and nucleic acid. Microchannel chips advantageously allow the amount of reagents or samples to be small, and are expected to be used for various uses such as laboratory tests, food tests, and environment tests.
It has been proposed to provide a valve structure in a microchannel chip to automate the process using microchannel chips (see, for example, PTL 1).
PTL 1 discloses a microchannel chip having a micro valve of a diaphragm-valve structure in which a port of a fluid channel is opened and closed by a film. The microchannel chip disclosed in PTL 1 includes a first chip and a second chip. The first chip has a fluid channel, a fluid port that opens at a wall of the channel, and a film that covers the channel and the fluid port. The second chip includes an actuator that pushes the film toward the fluid port of the first chip. When the actuator pushes the film toward the fluid port, the fluid port is closed. On the other hand, when the pushing of the film by the actuator is released, the fluid port is opened. Such opening and closing of the fluid port enable the control of the fluid flowing in the channel. Such a microchannel chip performs various kinds of tests, reactions, and the like while retaining fluid in a predetermined region.